Effectiveness of Educational Intervention with non-wax and Virtual Typodont Methods in Practical Orthodontic course of Dental Students, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Considering the educational value of non-wax and virtual typodonts, in this study, the results of the evaluation were compared to quantify each of the indicators in the evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and performance.

All tenth-semester dental students were divided into 2 equal groups of 25 and were trained by two typodontists. A standard questionnaire with a Cronbach α of .830 was used to evaluate their knowledge and attitude, which was prepared based on a 7-point Likert scale. To analyze the data, the paired t test, independent t test, and analysis of covariance (ANOVA) were used with SPSS version 21. The significance level was set as 0.05.

In each of the 2 educational methods, a significant increase in the overall score of the questionnaire completed by the students was observed after the educational intervention (P < 0.001).  Among the 17 questions related to students, only 1 question in the non-wax typodont group and 4 in the virtual typodont group did not show a significant effect of the intervention (P > 0.05).

  Both typodonts had remarkable educational advantages and accounted for a large share of the points in the questionnaires. In cases where physical sense was important in education, non-wax typodont and in cases where spatial understanding of biomechanics was necessary in tooth movement, virtual typodont was superior.